A lovely visit with Grandma Mikkelson

sort of chopped!

what would it be w/o my signature smooch shot!

i LOVE the side swoop bang!!


so i went to this new guy..i told him i was debating on whether or not to chop my hair to which he replied "women would kill for your hair-leave it long!" RHGHGHHG then he said "you have great hair, so if its short or long it looks good either way"...so i told him right now its just toooo long and toooo heavy..i want it light and bouncy!
he said "lets give you 3 haircuts-its NOT good to just chop all this hair off..thats too drastic and will cause you problems..so instead let me cut it, then you live with it for one week, if you want it shorter you can come back for free to cut it again, then another week, if you want it still shorter i'll cut it again for free"
SOLD!!

so this is what we did--he took 5 inches off and then put in lots of layers to make it bouncy and blend it all together -he was cutting EVERYWHERE i felt like i was on a makeover shower--scary! but it turned out AWESOME!! I SOOO SOOO LOVE IT!! he asked if i wanted it straight or curler..i said lets try curler..so we did--SO SO CUTE! a tip he said is of course to use light hair spray all over head before curling, then use a curling iron to curl the hair, BUT to PIN IT UP so the curl stays hot and cools off IN THE CURL still..so essentially my head looked like i had rollers in it but there were no rollers in it if that makes sense, then after the last curl he did, he took them all out and tousled it a bit..

so what do you think?? im anxious to wash my hair to see what it looks like straight and styled..but so far im loving it!

to chop or not to chop....

so lately i have been SO done with having long hair!! its too long/too heavy to do much with it...my aunt has been going to this guy who is REALLY good at doing something with your hair that would "work for you"..
SOOOOO i have my appt at 2pm...im totally freaking out as to what he's going to suggest!! YIKES!! ive been wanting to chop it off mid neck forever...maybe i should half my hair and get use to it first..
i'll have to take an after photo to show you what turned out...NERVOUS!

Just for Family and Close Friends Right?

I think that blogging in general is a way to stay close with especially family when we live so far apart. We write and respond which is fun as long as it stays here on this page. We share events and sweet experiences that happen with our children and families that are somewhat private and geared towards only sharing them with family and really close friends. Please no copying and pasting our words onto any one's blog (No matter who's it is.) This is an attempt to make the distance between us not so far. Lets keep it clean, no gossip, nothing offensive, no slander!

this will be me...

in a few days or weeks (depending on when i get the appt)...i went to the doctor yesterday who i REALLY actually like---he has ordered me a table tilt test which will have to be done at the hospital most likely..so i have a consult with the cardiologist first, then the actual test--he checked my lab work again and ALL of it looks really good...so they are going to essentially keep probing the heart to see whats going on..
so that is that!

kristi: this has been going on for over 8 weeks now..i can usually tell when its "coming on" and can hold on to something and work my way thru it..but last monday it went really fast and i fell down..i really thought it was my iron because im always low during pregnancy..but he said that my iron levels are actually really good, same with the sugar levels...so that is that!

Blood Work, EKG & a 3D BRAIN scan later

they still dont know WHY i am passing out..i made an appt to see my dr but i couldnt get in till NEXT tuesday (which really no biggy) i then went to tracy's house and was having a little difficulty (just felt weakish pass outish)so mama tracy MADE me go to the urgent care...
i had my blood drawn, and EKG done and a brain scan (the full on 3D model type)on top of that HELLO!! make a girl ALL BY HERSELF SCARED!!!! i was TRYING to hold it together and not cry..i did okay till i called my dad..why do our parents make us cry and nervous!!
so the dr came in and said my heart is great no problems with the EKG, the blood work is normal too (ie iron, sugar etc)..and the brain scan came back negative so no tumors or bleeding in the brain--UH WHAT?!??!?! we were LOOKING FOR TUMORS OR BLEEDING ON THE BRAIN!?!?!??!?!?!!
so im home now and have kept the tuesday appt with my dr to follow up (seeing how the week goes)& more tests can be made..they are testing my thyroid again and sugar levels again & iron..even though the sugar and iron came back good (which is why he ordered the hairy scary ekg and brain scan)...
so there we have it..

To BE anemica or Not to BE?

im not exactly sure what happened..i had gotten up & gone downstairs to make sure the girls were getting ready for school...then anna needed some toast so i got up and walking over to the kitchen i felt like i was going to be a goner..so i thought..okay i need to grab onto the counter and take a few breaths...then BAM next thing i know im flat on the wood floor?!?!?! i have a knarly bruise on my chin..i have NO idea how that happened..and my lips are swollen because i bit down on them too...GEESH!!

UPDATE:
okay so im doing better--but this AM felt like i was going to lose it again..but was close enough to a counter to hold on..jons nurse said to take my gold ring and swipe it across my face..if a grey line appears that means im anemic..so i try it and sure enough its practically BLACK! HELLO!!! i said "what a second here..i JUST washed my face and put oil of olay on it and im SURE my ring is TOTALLY DIRTY!!!??" so i cleaned my ring in my chemical cleaner thingy--then tried it again..and sure enough it was grey..i then marked myself up like an indian and showed jon..
SO i GUESS i need to go BACK to the DR's AGAIN and get blood work-geesh!! the last two times i was totally fine in my iron levels..what the heck!!!
SO im asking ALL of you to swipe your ring and leave a post about what happened---i did it to becca--and she had nothing..so now im wondering...so try it and let me know!

Xmas Happenings...

Xmas eve..


i wrapped during the day so we were set xmas eve night, i got the stockings stuff & gifts under the tree...only to have to unplug TWO toilets with one OVERFLOWING!!! YUCK!!!!!!!!! as im shoving the plunger into it and trying to stop the chaos from spreading further on my tile floor..i couldnt help but think to myself "this is NOT how i imagined spending xmas eve!??!!" happy to report, got both toilets working and a mess cleaned & CLOROXED up..so wrong.

xmas morning the older girls woke at 130AM to upwrap their stockings!?!?! what in the world!??! i thought i heard something..so sent them back to bed..only the older 3 were up..lovely.

here they are xmas morning at a more decent hour..

i bought them all xmas jammies earlier in the month (not sure where becca's was??)

after all the gift opening (we go one at a time by age)--i had 4 gift bags..i gave one to each girl and had them open them at the same time..they were all doggy toys..yes..i have been broken down..ME the "not a pet fan" decided to get a dog after waiting these many years..INTRODUCING ROXY!


(we picked her up from the humane society--she is 1.5 years old and is a shetland/terrier mix) im happy to report its already 2008 and its still living! after all of our pet horror stories..this is good news right!?!?!

my parents gave us money for xmas so i got jon a recliner

(which is now the entire family favorite chair)note to self CLEAN THE CAMERA LENSE-geesh! and yes roxy is inside most of the time..that will change when school starts back up next week--she's a good dog indoors and doesnt come up and bug me (ie sniff my yahoo-if you get my drift-i HATE when dogs do that!!)
and jon bought me a GPS system for my denali


its small and handheld-its FABULOUS!!! you can type in an address, fuel, food etc..or type in a name..dont ya love how i typed in BEN AFFLECKS HOUSE!!!! i have it as one of my "favorites" and bring it up when jons in the car..he just rolls his eyes & laughs...good times!

i prefer the british man telling me when/where to turn...

photo of basically what is going on as we head back & forth to OC almost daily..

the boys playing xbox, or us all watching a movie, girls shopping, lots of fast food, chocolate etc..good times!

thanks for the plaque kristi-i SO love it!

i hung it above the photos of the girls i took..

and lastly is our xmas photo display..

its like our "wall of friends"..ours are STILL ON THE WAY--so keep an eye out for it!!!